Contents

Foreword………….…………………………………. 2
Introduction…………………………………………… 4

1. The Jesus and Mary Magdalene marriage…………. 5

2. The Divinity of Jesus (peace be upon him)……… 11

Historical background of Christianity……………….13
Former Church Corruption…………………………..19

3. Dan Brown’s view on the Bible…………………… 20

The Quran’s outlook on the Bible…………………. 23
The real Biblical Concept of Jesus………………… 26

4. Response to Brown’s live interview

4.1 Brown’s outlook on religion………………….. 31
4.2 Brown’s hope on religion……………………… 34
4.3 Brown questions religious rituals……………… 35
4.4 Brown questions natural disasters……………. 38
Science and religion…………………………… 41
4.5 Brown’s statement on evolution……………….. 49

5. Events leading to the ‘Crucifixion’……………….. 53

6. The only way to salvation………………………….. 59

Conclusion……………………………………………….
60

1
 Foreword
All praises are due to God alone, and may His peace and
salutations be upon all His prophets.

This is a Muslim analysis of the Da Vinci Code in the light

of Islamic teachings. My judgments of Dan Brown’s
statements do not emanate from wild running thoughts;
rather I have used the Qur’an as my foundation, and
Muslim historical recordings as a supplement, separating
for the reader truth from falsehood.

From the very outset, many people will be wondering that

as a Muslim writer, what standpoint I would be taking; in
favour of the Da Vinci Code or against it? In view of this
thought, I would therefore like to spell it out clearly from
the very beginning, ‘in some cases I am in favour of the
book and in some cases against it’. In this regard, I have
therefore chosen a neutral title ‘Analysis of the Da Vinci
Code’. In other words I would be analyzing the book
giving due to its positive side and reasons for disagreement
with its errors. It will be very unfair to completely discredit
the author as a whole for certain view points of his, as
some writers have done, thus making him a fool or
someone stupid. Mind you, Dan Brown is no fool!

Whilst knowing that his book does contain a certain

percentage of truth, though it may be small, he needs to be
given credit for that. He also needs to be given credit for
2
being able to get people to think out of their restricted and
blindfolded boundaries, thus guiding them to come onto
reasoning. In view of his certain true remarks, it would
also be unfair to support him in totality, whilst ignoring the
incorrect side of his approach.

It must be said that Dan Brown needs to be discredited

very strongly on issues where he has taken the extreme
approach, using illogical reasoning, all of which I shall be
analyzing in this book.

Many readers of the Da Vinci Code will agree that ninety

five percent of the book is a clear-cut mystery or a fictional
story which does not trouble anyone, and only five percent
of the book or less than that, is actually factual history.
This is further made up of both, fiction as well as non
fiction, both of which I will be focusing on in detail.

I therefore term the book as a, ‘wolf in sheep skin’,

because it draws the reader towards it by its innocent
fictional appearance, but then the reader realizes that it
deals with real history.

My aim in this publication is to analyze the book for the

reader, separating the herrings for him, enabling him to see
a true picture from a more powerful light.

3
 Introduction

Besides the sensitive issues surrounding the controversies

of the Church that Dan Brown touches on, he has also
touched on other positive issues surrounding the
personality of Jesus himself. This is what I intend pursuing
in this publication.

As far as ‘some’ of the evil traits of the Church goes,

which Dan Brown exposes, it is not relevant to our
discussion in this publication, since I do not meddle in
religious politics, especially that which is based on
opinions and assumptions. Instead, my discussion is a
constructive criticism and of a more positive nature, which
focuses on:-

a. The ‘supposed’ marriage of Jesus and Mary

Magdalene
b. The Divinity of Jesus
c. Da Vinci’s view of the Bible.

4
 1. The Jesus and Mary Magdalene issue
Brown’s view

In short, Dan Brown says1 that ‘historical record’ prove

that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene.
According to Dan Brown, Leonardo Da Vinci, an artist and
a scientist who lived in the 15th century was one of those
who held the secret of this historical record, as Dan Brown
states in his book:-

“Then you must be aware that Leonardo was one of the

keepers of the secret of the Holy Grail. And he hid clues in
his art”.2

Muslim Response

Firstly, Da Vinci’s revealed secrets are historically related.

As an introductory note, I would firstly like to begin
saying that in the house of Islam ‘historical records’ bear
no proof for the establishment of any Islamic doctrine. For
that matter, even archaeological & scientific proofs also
bear no evidence for establishing Islamic doctrines. If
archaeological and scientific proofs do happen to coincide
with the Qur’anic teachings, then well and good. If they do
not coincide, then the Qur’anic teachings can never be
forsaken for the sake of Science, especially with the
unwinding of scientific theories which are taking place

1
Page 329
2
Chapter 55, page 311
5
daily.3 Similarly, from a Christian perspective also, no
historian writings can streamline the writing of the Bible
because according to the Christian, the Bible is the word
of God. Therefore, one cannot compare divine records
with historical records, unless however, if the so-called
‘divine records’ have a reputation of being tampered with,
causing its pure divine nature to be lost, then only will it
become equal to historical proofs which are based on
opinions.

If divine records reveal the inner hidden secrets of the

truth, it would be understood and accepted, but if historical
records like that of Da Vinci, a man coming along 15
centuries after Jesus, with hidden messages in his paintings
will be considered completely baseless. More surprisingly,
Da Vinci did not even point towards his art using his finger
to guide anyone concerning the hidden reality. Instead
people of the 21st century, like Dan Brown are now
assuming all this from the paintings. The proof he uses is
the position in which Jesus and Mary are seated represents
the female symbol for chalice, which is the female womb,
thus concluding from this that they were husband and wife.

He continues proving through the words of Langdon that it

was against Jewish custom for a man to remain a bachelor.
On the contrary, Islam also has no record of Jesus being

3
In Islam Qur’anic teachings cannot be compromised due to scientific recordings,
though they scarcely contradict the Qur’anic teachings. In places where they
contradict, it points out to the inaccuracy of scientific theories, which later
becomes rectified by the so called ‘new theories’.

6
married. Similarly, there are no records that Jesus didn’t
marry. We Muslims are therefore silent on matters where
the Qur’an is silent. Hereunder is however only a critical
analysis of the Da Vinci Code since it establishes such a
view.

Such an evident matter, had it taken place, there would not

be need for written history to tell people about it. Instead
oral history would have already recorded it, as the trinity,
which is not even spelt out clearly in the Bible, but the
Christian still says that oral history bears record of it,
which is true, that it does trace its roots up until around the
time of the Paul, (and not up to the time of Jesus.)4

Secondly, certain facts in life are such that they are

believed by individuals, though they may be in the
minority. In this case, never did we hear of any Church
denomination raising a claim of this nature. On the
contrary, unlike the case of Jesus about not being God or
the son of God, there are some Church denominations until
today, though they may be in a minority, including the
over two billion Muslim population of the world who
affirm Jesus as not being God or the son of God. Instead
they say he is a prophet of God. Had the concept of Jesus
and Mary Magdalene been an accepted fact by some or
even a single Church denomination, it would have been
sufficient proof for the possibility of this marriage.

4
This is in itself a different subject which I would not want to pursue in this
booklet.
7
Thirdly, if so much of information got exposed, even to the
extent that the ‘daughter of Mary Magdalene and Jesus’
was named Sarah, and that they were honoured amongst
the Jews in France because of this holy bloodline, which
was linked to their Prophets David and Solomon, then why
is there not a single historical record in France nor in the
world that this matter did take place?5
Brown further proves the marriage of Jesus and Marry
Magdalene with reference to the Dead Sea scrolls and the
Nag Hamaadi documents. He quotes from the names of the
above documents only, without giving specific references
or quotations from them.

I confidently say that these documents do not reveal

anything about the marriage of Jesus to Mary Magdalene.
Instead, these documents do reveal that Jesus was not God,
but a prophet and that he was not crucified, but was
instantly raised up by God to the heavens. How could these
documents have revealed the issue of Jesus’ marriage to
Mary Magdalene since these documents only record the
events up to 1 or 3 B.C.E6, whereas the alleged birth of
Sarah from Jesus and Mary is in the CE7 period. Besides,
where is France and where is Egypt? Who could have been
sitting in Egypt during the CE period doing these
impossibilities?

5
Chapter 60, page 342
6
Or ‘B.C.’
7
Or ‘A.D.’
8
Dan Brown makes further reference to these documents
without quoting from them, whereas in the very same
paragraph, he quotes from the gospel of Phillip that Jesus
used to kiss Mary on her mouth, thus concluding that they
were married8. From the word ‘companion’ in the phrase
of the Gospel of Phillip which states ‘And the companion
of the saviour is Mary Magdalene’, he tries to prove their
marriage. Brown proves from the word ‘companion’ that
in the Aramaic language according to the Aramaic
scholars, it refers to ‘spouse’. Therefore they were married.

You can decide this for yourself. Such far-fetched proof.

Brown firstly fails to provide straight forward proof, and
yet after giving proof, he provides proof that is far-fetched
as well as incomprehensible.

Brown’s Proof: 2

He says that the Church hid this historical record because

Jesus’ marriage with Mary Magdalene proves Jesus’
earthly nature, and being not divine as the Church wanted
him to be.

Muslim response

Why would the Church want to hide such a fact in fear that
it would reveal the earthly nature of Jesus, because the
Church itself readily accepts every aspect of Jesus as being
earthly, in spite of him also being God? For example, the

8
Chapter 58, page 331
9
Church accepts that Jesus ate, drank, slept, and so on,
exactly as any other earthly persons do. Therefore, why
should the Church hide one earthly fact about Jesus’
marriage, whilst accepting his other hundred earthly
qualities? This is nothing, but an assumption against the
Church.

As Muslims, we believe that revelation through divine

inspiration at that particular time was possessed only by
Jesus, and after his immediate ascension, there was none
who received direct inspiration from God, from even
amongst his disciples.9 Therefore, all records following
Jesus’ ascension, whether it is related to Mary’s migration
to France and the birth of Sarah etc. are all writings which
would all fall under opinions, and not concrete facts.
Especially when proof is demanded, Brown refers us to the
writings of such and such historical authors who are the
authors of such and such historical books10.

I know that if Brown were to get cornered with these

proofs, he would just say, ‘then just treat it as a fictional
book’.11

9
Referring to direct communication with God because direct inspiration according
to Islam is only possessed by the prophets of God like Jesus, Moses, Muhammad
David, Jacob, Abraham and other prophets. Non prophets may receive indirect
inspirations as from dreams etc., but their inspirations cannot serve as a proof for
the establishment of a religious doctrine. Like the Christians claim that the New
Testament writers to receive inspiration.
10
Chapter 60, page 340
11
As he quotes in his interview.
10
 2. The Divinity of Jesus

Brown says No
Muslims say No

Dan Brown spells it out very clearly, that prior to the year
325 CE (‘A.D.’); Jesus was regarded as a prophet. At
several places in his book, this subject, Brown reinforces
the fact that Jesus was a mortal. In another place, he states
that Jesus was a man and not the son of God12. From the
Islamic point of view, Brown is one hundred percent
correct. Nonetheless, in the mind of a Christian, this
statement gives rise to an important question that; if
assuming that the statement was true, then how was it
possible that after the year 325 CE a great majority of
Christians deviated from the original teachings of Jesus? In
response to this question one has to first understand the
background of Christian history.

Clarifying a minor misconception of Dan Brown

In order to understand the truth about Jesus being a great

prophet, it will firstly be important to prove to the reader
that during the year 325 CE, there had already existed
many Christian groups who were in conflict with each
other concerning the identity of the personality of Jesus.

12
Chapter 60, page 342
11
In order for you as the reader to understand this, you will
need to firstly understand the background of Christian
history, then only will it be possible to view this whole
scenario as a complete puzzle put together.

Brown’s historical account goes almost accurate, except

for one point; Brown depicts the war in the year 325 CE as
being a war between the Christians and the pagans.13 His
discussion revolves very briefly around the subject of this
great historical event known as the Council of Nicea that
took place in the year 325 CE. Brown’s assumption is that
the war in 325 CE had been between the pagans and
Christians. If so, then where does the issue of destroying
the Gospels fit in? Why would the opposition party i.e. the
pagans want to create an issue concerning the Gospels, as
it was not in conflict with the pagan religion? This is
however Brown’s minor assumption. Furthermore, how
could it have been between the pagans and the Christians,
as Brown himself affirms14 that it is Constantine himself
during that period who had been a role player in approving
the New Testament gospels of today i.e. Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John.

The truth is that the war in 325 CE had been amongst the
Christians themselves, which was concerning the true
identity of Jesus. It is also clearly understood from the
‘gospel selection issue’ that during the 325 period, there

13
Chapter 55, page 313
14
Page 313; ‘The Bible today as we know was collated by the pagan Roman
emperor Constantine the Great.
12
had definitely been some tension amongst the Christians
themselves concerning some issue, from which the eighty
gospels that existed were being disputed.15 In view of all
these explanations, where then does the question of war
between the pagans and the Christians arise? Secondly, for
what reason would the Christians want to dispute with the
pagans? There is obviously no reason.

This was all said to explain to that throughout the history

of Christianity there definitely existed a group of
Christians who did not believe in the Bible that the
Christians of today believe in. Also, there existed another
group of Christians at that time who accepted Jesus as a
prophet which Christians today don’t accept.

Historical background of Christianity in

detail16
What follows is a more detail historical account of
Christianity in 325, than that of Brown’s, which he has
very briefly touched on.

15
The figure according to Dan Brown. According to another record, more than a
270 versions were burnt, other records show more.
16
It is not our general practice to prove anything through history, as I said history
bears no proof for the establishment of religious doctrines. Hence, my approach is
generally purely Biblical, which I have not really included in the publication,
especially that Brown himself has not touched on it. Since Brown has written on
History, and our purpose here is concerning the Da Vinci Code, we also therefore
concentrated our discussion around the history.
13
The reality of the controversy that existed during the year
325, occurred between two17 major groups of Christians
from amongst the many other groups, one of whom we
would term as the Unitarians, and the other as the
Trinitarians. The Unitarians were those who accepted God
as the ONE and only God as proclaimed by Jesus in the
first commandment18 of the Bible;19 and Jesus as a great
man, a prophet of God. In other words, they accepted God
and Jesus as two different entities.

The Trinitarians were those who accepted Jesus as the son

of God. The argument between the two groups was
concerning the determination of the true identity of Jesus.
Either the gospel affirming the divinity of Jesus supporting
the Trinitarian’s view was to be accepted, or either the
gospel of the Unitarians, supporting the pure unity or
oneness of God was to be accepted. Accordingly, the
group winning the support of the Emperor Constantine
would have their view passed.20

Dan Brown needs to be credited for the point which he

makes saying that history had always been written by the
winners. In other words, history only records the side of
the winning party. This is exactly what transpired in
Christian history. The Trinitarian perspective of God
superceded the Unitarian perspective of God, causing the
gospels supporting their view widespread, and the gospels
17
Two main groups are mentioned, though there existed many other groups.
18
First commandment ‘Hear O Israel your God my God is one God.’
19
Includes the New and Old Testament.
20
This distinction of groups is however not found in the Da Vinci Code.
14
supporting the Unitarian concept of God to be burnt,
banned and destroyed. Therefore, the historical records of
Jesus and God according to the four gospels of today have
been undoubtedly written by the winners, who were the
Trinitarians. In spite of the widespread preachings of
Trinitarians, the truth had always survived, though it
survived in its minority.

Emperor Constantine was a follower of the pagan religion.

With the spread of Christianity in Rome, he now had a
mixture of pagans and Christians under his rule. The
Christians were furthermore divided into two groups, thus
creating tension under his rule.

In order to resolve these disputes between them,

Constantine tried different ways of uniting them, solely for
the purpose of creating peace in his Kingdom. In doing so,
he failed. He first tried to unify them under one religion of
Christianity persuading them to forget their differences
about Jesus’ identity. To him, whether it was the
Trinitarian concept of God or whether it was the Unitarian
concept of God, it did not really matter. According to him,
finally both believed in God. To him these were petty
differences. After his great efforts for reconciliation, he
realized that these differences were not petty for
Christians. He also called meetings between the two
parties to resolve their differences, which did not work out.
He also tried pressurizing the individual parties to give up
their views. All these events lead to the great historical
meeting of the year 325 CE, called the Council of Nicea.

15
This meeting was to settle the differences by passing a
judgment on either one of the sides. All that Constantine
was interested in doing was creating peace in his kingdom
and nothing else. In doing so, he had to see on which
version of Christianity judgement should be passed on.
Judgment was to be done by Constantine himself, who was
a pagan, not even the judgment of any Bishop or learned
cleric was accepted. Constantine’s judgment was not based
on determining whose view was most authentic, rather
which would blend in the best under his rule.

The Trinitarians also had a reputation of having close ties

with Constantine. That is why prior to the Council of
Nicea, Constantine also tried placing pressure on the
Unitarians to compromise their faith. They refused saying
that all they were doing was affirming the teachings of
Jesus himself, which he proclaimed in the first
commandment. They also argued that it was possible to
visualize a time when Jesus did not exist, whereas God
always existed, and that Jesus was dependent on God like
any other creature, all of which demonstrates that he was
anything other than God.

The belief that suited the pagan concept of God the most
was the Trinitarian concept. Therefore the decision was
passed in favour of the Trinitarians. This was followed by
a widespread massacre of those who did not sign the
Trinitarian creed. According to Brown, eighty other New
Testament Bibles supporting Unitarianism were burnt.
According to other reports, approximately three hundred

16
were burnt. Anyone possessing an unauthorized Bible was
facing himself to capital punishment. As from that time
onwards, pagan concepts of religion have become
integrated into Trinitarian Christianity, thus making it drift
further away from the original teachings of Jesus.
According to Brown, as well as from research, it was
found that as from that time onwards Christianity had
undergone the following changes:-

1. The celebration of the birth of Jesus on the 25th

December was taken from the Romans who
celebrated the birth of their sun-god Mithra who was
born on 25th December. There are no historical
records that it was the birthday of Jesus

2. The celebration of Easter was taken from the pagans

of the East who believed their god dies in the
beginning of winter and comes to life at the start of
spring. The resurrection of Jesus was made to
coincide with the exact time that the pagans
celebrated the resurrection of their god. This became
Easter.

3. The Roman Sunday now became the Sabbath

(Saturday) for the Christians.

4. The emblem of Christianity became the cross.

After that period, the Unitarians isolated themselves from

the rest, mainly occupying the areas of North Africa while

17
the Trinitarians spread into Europe. At about 246 years
later, Prophet Muhammad came to revive the message of
the first commandment preached by Moses and by Jesus
concerning the belief in the ONE God. The Unitarians saw
the commonality between Muhammad’s message with
Jesus’ message,21 also recognizing him as the prophet
prophesized by Jesus. Thus they embraced his message,
the message of Islam. That is why North African people
today are mostly Muslims. I therefore conclude saying that
the Unitarian Christians, who were once a sect of
‘Christianity’22 are today disguised under the name of
Islam. In simpler terms, I would claim that ‘the true
followers of Jesus in the past are the Muslims of today’.

The Muslim therefore claims to have inherited their view

in regard to the concept of God directly from the
Unitarians, who were in turn the direct inheritors of the
original message preached by Jesus.

On this subject of the non-divinity of Jesus Christ and him

being a prophet, Dan Brown would pass the test in
claiming that Jesus was a prophet and was not divine
because there are almost 2 billion Muslims in the world
affirming this. This historical truth survived despite the
fact that the manuscripts supporting it were previously
burnt, banned and destroyed. Instead, this doctrine was

21
The Unitarians affirmed Jesus as a Prophet, so do the Muslims.
22
The phrase ‘Christianity’ used here for the followers of Jesus is done more for
convenience purposes. Rather, the true followers of Jesus were not at all called by
the name ‘Christian’. The term Christian began only to be used only in Antioch
years later. “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” Acts 11:26
18
passed down through the generations and preserved by
word of mouth and written down as historical record.

On this subject of the non-divinity of Jesus, there are other

accurate statements of Brown’s which are worthy of
compliments. One is as follows:-

‘Many scholars claim that the early Church literally stole

Jesus from His original followers, hijacking his human
message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity,
and using it to expand their own power.’23

‘Former’ Church Corruption

As far as the Church corruption goes, which Brown has
also pointed out, I wish to add that the former Churches
had been corrupt due to them hiding the true historical
facts. As far as the Churches today are concerned,
according to Brown, and I also agree that the Church today
is sincere in distinguishing truth from false.

Dan admits this, that the modern Church today upholds

this doctrine more out of sincerity:-
‘And yet; Langdon countered, it’s important to remember
that the modern Church’s desire to suppress these
documents comes from a sincere belief in their established
view of Christ’.24 I also say this, not for winning Christian
support for my works, or for a tap on my shoulder, by say

23
Chapter 55, page 316
24
Chapter 55 Page 317
19
it because, the very mere fact the Christians are comparing
their present Bibles with the ancient manuscripts, thus
engaging themselves in deletion, addition & alterations of
the present Bibles is in itself a proof of keenness in the
establishment of the truth from falsehood. In doing so, they
produce different translations as they call them, despite
them running away from the word ‘version’, which in
actual fact are versions.25

Therefore, I say that the Church today is sincere, unlike in

the past, they had a reputation for spreading corruption.
This subject too, is a very lengthy one, which we don’t
intend to pursue here.

3. Brown’s view on the Bible

Brown’s statement on the Bible

Brown says: -

“The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven…. Man

created it as historical record of tumultuous times, and it

25
I say this for one simple reason. If a new version states that a certain verse from
the older one did not exist in the ancient manuscripts, it now becomes a different
version. Like two reporters on an accident scene, both reporting the exact same
event, except one saying that the driver’s indicators were on and the other reporter
saying that the indicators were not on. Both the reporters, though they may be
writing the exact same statement, with the difference of one word will be termed
as versions. Similarly, if the one Bible like the King James version quotes the
verse from 1 John 5:7, and the Revised Standard Version omits it saying that it did
not exist in the ancient manuscripts. This clearly shows that they are two different
versions or two different sides of the story.
20
 has evolved through countless translations, additions and
revisions. History has never had a definite version of the
Book.’26

“More than eighty gospels were considered for the New

Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for
inclusion- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John amongst
them’.27

It is very important to note that, though Brown places a

question Mark on today’s Bible, he also does revere and
honour Jesus’ personality in saying:-

‘As a prophesized messiah Jesus toppled Kings inspired

millions…’.28.

In another passage he says:

‘Nobody is saying Christ is a fraud, or denying that he

walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives. All
we are saying is that Constantine took advantage of
Christ’s substantial influence and importance. And in
doing so, he shaped the face of Christianity as we know it
today”.29

26
Chapter 55 Page 312
27
Chapter 55 Page 313
28
Chapter 55 Page 313
29
Chapter 55 Page 316
21
Muslim Response

This view of Dan Brown in terms of honouring the

personality of Jesus, and denying the authenticity of
today’s Bible, exactly coincides with a Muslim’s outlook
of the Bible. The above quotation of Brown also refutes
the statements of some writers who have accused Brown of
being anti-Jesus.

For me as a Muslim to say that the entire Bible is a

fabrication would be an over statement. I would never say
that because we also accept that there are certain
statements which we believe were uttered by Jesus, for an
example Mark 12:29:

Jesus said:-

“The first is, Hear O Israel: ‘The Lord our God, the Lord is
one’.

This verse is also proven from the Qur’an to have been

uttered by Jesus himself:-

“When Jesus the son of Mary said; ‘O Children of Israel,

Worship God, who is my God and your God’.30

What we Muslims do accept is that today’s Bible was not

preserved, and instead has undergone many changes. The

30
Chapter 6:Verse 72
22
Bible issue is also a lengthy subject, which I don’t intend
to pursue here in much detail.

The Qur’an’s outlook on the Bible

The Qur'an on the one hand reveres and honours the

Gospel, ('Injeel'), speaking highly of it and making it an
article of faith for Muslims to believe in. Disbelieving in
the Gospel of Jesus does not qualify one to remain a
Muslim. It was the scripture which was revealed from God
to Jesus.

The Qur'an on the other hand refers to the people of the

Book as those who have changed their book with their own
hands.31 Thus showing that the scriptures were being
tampered with.

Therefore, Muslims observe the following beliefs about

today's Bible: -

 Muslims disagree with the issues in the Bible that

are contradictory to the Qur'an like the divinity of
Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the
different major sins attributed to the Prophets of
God etc. These are openly rejected and are believed
to be clear-cut fabrications according to the Qur’an.

31
Chapte2: Verse 79 “Then woe to those who write the Book with their own
hands, and then say: ‘This is from Allah,’ to traffic with it for miserable price!
Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.”
23
  No Muslim is permitted to pass any mockery or
derogatory remarks on the Bible because this would
then be considered as personal grudge following
guess work. Besides, it is also a sin, and is not
permitted in Islam, like those who mocked at
Prophet Muhammad in displaying him in a cartoon.

Today’s Bible is however a mixture of the words of God,

Jesus, disciples, and non disciples like Paul.

The ‘Injeel’ which Muslims believe-in is purely the word

of God, where God speaks Himself, unlike today's Bible.
This is because God speaks in the Qur'an saying that God
revealed the Injeel, implying that it is a speech of God
which He Himself revealed to Jesus, which was in turn
transmitted by Jesus to the people.

Brown also makes reference to this, saying that even the

Vatican today admits that there is something which they
call as the ‘Q’ documents, which they believe to have once
existed and are reported to have gone missing. They also
say that these were the documents of the true followers of
Jesus.

Therefore, the fact that Muslims are saying that our beliefs
are in conformity with the original teachings of Jesus,
should not be surprising to anyone because Christian
records also bears testimony to this fact.32 The mere talk of

32
Chapter 60 Page 343
24
the ‘Q’ documents shows the existence of another side to
the story.

A question may be posed; if the Bible is considered as a

forgery, then does the word of God exist in the world
today? If it does, then where is it preserved?

Many Christians believe that the Bible has to be the 'only'

word of God existing, because the Bible says that 'Heaven
and earth shall pass away but my word (i.e. God's word)
will not pass away. Some Christians agree that the Bible is
not error-free since it has the human hand involvement in
it, but that does not make them doubt it being the word of
God? What a 'contradictory statement'. On the one hand
they agree that the Bible is not error-free and on the other
hand it still remains to be the pure word of God. If it is so
then how confident are we that certain statements are
transmitted in a manner that God wanted it to be
transmitted? Due to its errors and contradictions, there are
great possibilities of misinterpretations and interpolations
which could possibly change the original message, thus
resulting in unworthy words put into God’s mouth, words
which have never been revealed.

Yes, we Muslims also believe that the word of God has

been preserved, but not in the context of how the
Christians interpret it. Muslims believe in the Injeel, the
book revealed to Jesus, which is the word of God. Even
after the Gospels were tampered with, by people, God still
preserved his word, which is in the Qur'an. Understand this

25
by way of an example; Tom secured his gold coins in a
brown safe. When the thieves tried to steal the gold coins,
they failed, however they damaged the safe. Tom however
removed the gold coins and placed it into a grey safe. Tom
has always appreciated the brown safe. He acknowledges
the long service he got out of it, but accepts the fact that he
cannot any longer derive any benefit from it since it has
been tampered with.

Similarly, the word-of-God was once preserved in the safe

called the Injeel of Jesus. Later this safe was tampered
with, damaging its original form. Thereafter God
transferred his message into the safe of the Qur’an. Every
Muslim believes in the Injeel, a book containing the
revelation of God. This book, though it is disguised under
the name ‘Holy Bible’ cannot be utilized as a book of
guidance today because it was tampered with, thus
bringing changes to its original message. The book to be
followed as guidance today is none other than the Qur'an
because the word of God is contained in it. In this manner
the word or message of God has always been preserved.

The ‘Real’ Biblical concept of Jesus

Did you know?

1. That there is not a single verse in the Bible where

Jesus said; ‘I am God’ or ‘Worship me’.

26
 2. If the trinity was what Jesus preached, then why
didn’t Jesus clarify this in the first commandment of
Mark 12:29, instead he first preached the oneness of
God.

3. God not seen or heard- In the Bible; John 5:37, it

states that God cannot be seen or heard. Therefore, if
Jesus was God, then how is it that he was seen
whereas God cannot be seen?33

4. Two in one- According to the Christians Jesus is the

son of God, whilst in the belief of trinity he is also
God. How can he be God and the son at the same
time?

5. Whilst the term ‘son of God’ is used in the Bible,

Jesus also refers to himself as ‘son of man’ in
approximately 83 places in the Bible.

6. Christians say Jesus is God, and God, as we know is

Father. If God is Father, then Jesus is also Father
because ‘God’ and ‘Father’ are synonymous terms.
If it is so that Jesus is the father, then why did Jesus
say in Matthew 23:9; ‘And call no man your Father
upon the earth; for one is your Father which is in
Heaven’?34

33
John 5:37- “You have never heard his voice at any time nor seen His Face”.
34
The word ‘man’ in the following quotation; ‘And call no man your
Father…’ also includes Jesus because in many places in the Bible
Jesus is referred to as man.
27
 7. If Jesus is God himself, why did he pray for help?
Does God pray? Then, why didn’t he help himself or
pray to himself?35

8. If Jesus was part of the trinity, why then did He not

claim so in the Old Testament, because all over the
Old Testament, God continuously emphasizes about
Himself being One, for example in Deuteronomy
6:4 ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord’.

9. Did Jesus ever say that he is the second part of the

trinity; likewise did the Holy Ghost ever claim to be
the third part?

10. There is no word like ‘trinity’ in the Bible?

11. If trinity is such a belief that is emphasised upon,

why did this belief not exist before Jesus, in the past,
like in the Old Testament? If it did exist, then God
would have surely indicated to it in His first
commandment to Moses!

12.If God had a son, then who is God’s wife.

13. How can Jesus have a genealogy (which he has,

according to Matthew 1:1) because he is claimed to

35
Why did he pray; ‘Eli Eli…..’ (Matthew 27:46)
28
 be the son of God, and how can God have a
genealogy?36

14. Baptism- Jesus came to “Jordan unto John, to be

baptized of him” (Matthew 3:13). Baptism implies
purification of sins. How can Jesus be God if he
asks John to purify him of his sins? How can God be
sinful? A sinful God?!!

15. Jesus is imperfect compared to God- “One came

and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing
shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he
(Jesus) said unto him, Why callest thou me good?
There is none good but one, that is, God.” (Matthew
19:16-17) This verse proves that there is only one
good that is God, relating to the perfection of Good.

16. Jesus was called Master- The disciples called him

Rabbi, i.e. Master or teacher (Luke 1:38). They
never called him God.

17. There is however only one place where Jesus says;

‘I and my father are one’. Firstly if it is read in its
correct context from the previous verse, it implied
that Jesus and God are one in ‘purpose’ and

36
In Mathew, after the long list of forefathers, Chapter 16 reads “And Jacob begat
Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ”. It
seems as if this is the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph. If it is so, then what’s so
miraculous about his birth and what makes him the son of God? If he is the son of
both, God and Joseph, then how can he have two Fathers? If Jesus is God, then
how can he have human lineage, as it supposed to be a spiritual lineage?
29
 ‘ambition’, and not in ‘person’. Furthermore, if
Jesus and God are taken as one person, then how
would one interpret the verse where Jesus says; ‘My
father is greater than I’, considering that the
Christian says that the three in the trinity are in total
agreement with each other, whereas here there is a
disagreement in the quality of greatness between
Jesus and God.

The Islamic concept of Jesus37

 Jesus was one of the mightiest prophets of God.

 He gave his followers the glad tidings of another
messenger to come after him, who is
Muhammad.
 He was born miraculously without a father or any
male intervention.
 He was neither the begotten son, nor part of the
divinity of God.
 He preached the worship of one God, and not the
trinity.
 He also proclaimed himself as the messenger of
God, and not the son of God.
 He did not die for any one’s sins.
 He was neither crucified, nor resurrected; instead
he was raised-up instantly by God.
 He will return towards the end of time before the
day of Judgement.

37
These are just brief point-form extracts from verses of the Qur’an and traditional
recordings of Muhammad.
30
  He will judge by means of the Qur’an.
 He will return as a leader of the Muslims.
 He himself came to fulfil or confirm the
teachings of Moses, and not to preach a new
religion.
 When he returns, he will break the cross and kill
all pigs. He will also kill the one-eyed Dajjaal
(Anti-Christ)

4. A Response to Brown’s Live Interview

4.1 Brown’s outlook on religion

Dan Brown is putting onto paper questions, which people

generally ask concerning religion. His ideas in his book are
those which he has brain stormed wanting to get people to
start thinking on important issues of religion:-

‘My hope in writing this novel was that the story would
serve as a catalyst and a spring board for people to discuss
the important topics of faith’.38

He also wants people to start thinking out of their

restricted religious boundaries in accepting everything
which the Church tells them to believe. The reason he also
gives is that ‘religion has always demanded faith without
reason’. He also commented saying that religion is always

38
NH Radio interview
31
at war with science’. Clear cut science is contradicted by
religion.

Whilst making people to think, he is not also providing

solutions directing people which way to go. He says, ‘I
leave it now to the scholars and the historians to debate
these issues’.

This is where we as a Muslim’s come in. The wish to share

and present to people an alternative viewpoint.

Muslim Response

In my view, the Da Vinci Code is good in one way, but

also bad in another. It is bad in a way because it unplugs
the minds of people out from the socket of religion. It is
also bad in a way that it does not provide an alternative to
the Christian’s. Instead it leaves them suspended as in
undermining religion in totality, leaving no hope at all that
the person will look for another religion, more appealing to
logic, reason and science compatible.

Brown’s book is good in one sense that it breaks prejudice

and narrow-mindedness which is generally a widespread
spiritual disease in the Christianity. We fail to reason with
them concerning their doctrines. They always end-up
remarking; ‘We walk not by sight, but we walk by faith’.
Sometimes they say; ‘There is no proof needed for the
word of God (i.e. the Bible)’, or sometimes they describe

32
their experiences with the Holy Spirit, which they claim to
feel all the time.

We are glad in a way that Brown has done a job which

we’ve been trying to do for years. We therefore take
advantage of the situation by offering the Islamic
alternative.

Islam on the other hand does not preach prejudice. The

Qur’an invites all of mankind to question or challenge its
contents, which it presents openly. It’s amazing. I find it
necessary to refer you to the verses of the Qur’an which
openly demand from people to challenge and scrutinize its
contents from every angle. (See footnote for verses.39) In
doing so, they would definitely prove unsuccessful, in
trying to falsify or disprove its miraculous nature.
Therefore, Brown’s statement concerning that ‘religion
demands faith without understanding’ does not apply to
Islam because Islam does have the answers. A faith that
has no answers always demands ‘belief without reason
from its followers’.

39
a. Demands you to ponder on it- ‘Do they not ponder over the Qur’an, or do you
have locks on your hearts’. (Chapter 47: Verse 24)
b. Ponder over its freedom from contradiction- ‘Do they not ponder over the
Qur’an, had it been from anyone besides God, they would surely have found
therein many contradictions’. (Chapter 4: Verse 82)
c. Challenge to produce the likeness of it- ‘And if you are in doubt as to what We
have revealed from time to time to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a
chapter like thereof; and call your witnesses or helpers, (if there are any) besides
God, if your (doubts) are true’. (Chapter 2: Verse 23)
33
4.2 Brown’s hope on religion

Dan Brown says in his interview: “I believe that science

and religion are both friends, one day they would become
one. He makes another statement saying that ‘I don’t claim
to know where we came from40, but I know that there are
multiple versions of that story’. He also says that he
believes that ‘religion and science are two different
languages trying to tell the same story’. The question he
raises; ‘How can we become people of science without
losing our religion’? He finally concludes saying: ‘I hope
science and religion become friends’, which in reality they
are. He also claims not to be programming people’s minds
in any specific direction. He says in one statement; ‘The
ball is rolling. Let the biblical scholars sit down and
debate…’ He also stated that religion has always evolved
with the lapse of time; therefore religion has not been
preserved in the purest form ever. He feels convinced
about this, especially after researching Christian history.

Muslim Response

I also agree with Brown, when he says that ‘most’

religions in the world do go through an evolving process,
but my message to Brown is to search for ‘a’ religion
which is void of evolution.

From all the above statements of Brown, I can sum up that

Brown knows from the deep recesses of his heart that the
40
Referring to the spiritual realities of life
34
truth lies in some version of religion. From his word s,
there is a sense of eagerness in finding the truth.
Furthermore, his questions on religion are all directed
towards Christianity. I say that there ought to be a faith
wherein the truth has always prevailed throughout the
generations. If not, then God is ‘God of Hiding’41.

4.3 Brown question’s religious rituals

I agree with Brown that in Christianity there are rituals

which are uncomprehendable to the common mind, for
instance depriving the body of its matrimonial rights,
cutting the tongues, and sitting in the caves. As pointed out
by Brown, these are to be questioned, as they are religious
rituals having no significance or benefit to the human
being, they cause harm instead.

Muslim Response

I agree that some of these innovations have crept into

Christianity and were not in actual fact preached by Jesus
himself. Besides these innovations, there are many others
which have also crept into Christianity, thus causing a
stigma to be attached to all religion in general. True
religion is free from rituals of such nature.

From the point of view of a person who belongs to a faith

having both, a mixture of truth and falsehood, it becomes

41
Rhyming with the words of Brown on his interview statement, that God is ‘God
of the gaps’.
35
difficult to differentiate between innovations and true
ritualistic practices. In Brown’s list of ritualistic
innovations he has also included fasting to be one of them,
as he feels that it punishes the body by depriving it of food.
I therefore wish to show the significance of fasting
according to the religion of Islam.

Fasting in Islam42

Firstly, fasting has always been the way of life of the

Prophets of God.43 We Muslims accept it, follow it, and
believe in it. But, for the benefit of those from an anti-
religious point of view, who would naturally have a
difficulty in accepting things without understanding, I
therefore present a brief explanation of fasting, as a non
oppressive ritual.

According to Islam, God has created man solely for the

purpose of worshipping Him’. Worship in Islam means the
performance of good deeds purely for the pleasure of God.
Therefore any bad action that is performed or any action
performed for show, defeats the purpose of worship.
Therefore man needs to continuously strive to his level
best in trying to perform good actions, and to stay away
from bad actions. From amongst the actions which God

42
By fasting, according to Islam it means; to abstain from eating, drinking and co-
habitation with one’s spouse42 from sunrise to sunset. Fasting in Islam, which is
ordained once a year for 30 days in the Holy month of Ramadhaan, allows a
person’s evil desires to be controlled.
43
Qur’an
36
has commanded to man, God has also ordained for man a
system of fasting, like charity, pilgrimage, prayer etc.

Fasting helps a person fulfil his purpose of worship by

allowing him to control his evils passions. Fasting also
helps a person build his will-power, enabling the person to
restrain himself from the evil dictates of the soul, like in
the case of addiction of alcohol, drugs, anger, and in all
other evils where will-power is required. Fasting is
wherein one gives up food and drink voluntarily, in spite
of being able to eat willingly. Fasting also creates
discipline in enabling the person to oppose his self desires,
which is the main reason for selfishness. The hunger
experienced in fasting causes a person to reflect over the
condition of the poor and needy. Thus creating in him a
quality of mercy, abstinence from oppression on the poor
and weak. The hunger in fasting creates within a person
gratitude for food and water, the two bounties which are
generally unappreciated by people. It is therefore
appreciated properly at the time of thirst. Fasting also
creates God consciousness. When the stomach is empty, a
person naturally turns his heart focus to God. All these are
contributing factors towards developing dedicated
devoutness in worshipping God.

37
4.4 Brown question’s natural disasters

Brown says that if God is so powerful, then how can He

not have power of control over the natural disasters in the
world.

Muslim Response

From an Islamic perspective, life in this world is based on

tests and trials. The Qur’an points out that the corruption
and turmoil that prevails on the land is due to what man
has earned by his own doings. God sometimes unleashes
these disasters according to His divine wisdom.
Misfortunes of these types inflicted on innocent people too
should not be taken as a means of failure or punishment.
What can be a blessing for one person can be punishment
for another. For example, God’s dealing with man is
sometimes like the knife of a surgeon i.e. to heal people
spiritually; and sometimes it is a punishment, like the knife
of criminal who is aiming to harm or kill. For those who
have lost their lives innocently, it is a means of elevation
of their status in the Hereafter wherein all eternal success
lies.

Ultimately, it’s Gods right. He does what he wills. He is

the driver of the world vehicle. If we interfere in his
decisions, we will only cause harm to our own selves.

38
Science and religion in Islam

As far as the contradiction of Science and religion is

concerned which Dan Brown refers to, I wish to educate
him and others by a few examples from Islam and its
relation to science. I also wish to clarify that as Muslims,
we do not compromise Qur’an teachings for the sake of
scientific theories. For that matter, even Muslim historian
records44 bear no proof in any way against divine Islamic
records. Divine Islamic records are as follows:-

1.) The Qur’an, which we believe to be the word of God in

its literal sense45.

2.) ‘Standard Islamic traditions’ (known as Ahaadith),

which are recorded from the lips of Muhammad by his
companions. [For that matter also, even archaeological
and scientific proof cannot be given precedence over
Islamic teachings.46]
Dan Brown’s focus of argument is that at present, science
and religion are continuously at war. As far as the

44
Referring to even Muslim historians, let alone others. Even the sayings of great
saints cannot streamline the divine recordings.
45
Word by word from God
46
If archaeological and scientific discoveries happens to coincide with the
Qur’anic teachings, then well and good. If they don’t coincide, the teachings of the
Qur’an can never be forsaken for the sake of science, though they hardly
contradict the Qur’anic teachings. In places where there is a contradiction, it
would point to the inaccuracy of scientific theories, which later become ratified by
the so called ‘new theories’.

39
contradictory aspect goes between science and religion, I
would like to correct Brown by saying that contradiction is
not between science and religion in general. Instead it is
between ‘Christianity’ and science. Due to Brown’s
thorough study of Christian history, he has discovered
many innovations and uncomprehendable doctrines in the
Christian faith. One of which is the assumed birthday of
Jesus that is the 25th of December. This date was taken
from the Roman sun-god called Mithras. He also found
many other ancient gods birthdays to fall on the 25th
December. Due to all this, he therefore questions ‘religion’
in general concluding that religion has always evolved
throughout history. In doing so, he is putting all his eggs in
one basket. Less does he realize that this stigma should
only be attached to Christianity, it should not be
generalized for all religions, despite Brown’s thorough
knowledge of Christianity. Also, his lack of Islamic
knowledge leaves much to be desired of him. Generalizing
‘religion’ can drive many people towards atheism,
especially when he says that ‘I don’t claim to say that I
have all the answers, rather I am only getting people to
start thinking’, and hence questioning faith.

Here are some examples from the Qur’an where science is

found perfectly compatible with the Qur’an. I want you to
also bear in mind that the Qur’an was revealed 1400 years
ago at a time when there was no trace of science at all.
Scientific research has only recently unfolded. Though we
will not be able to discuss many comparatives, but for the
benefit of the reader some examples will be given ahead.

40
 Science and Islam

1. Creation of the universe

The ‘Big Bang Theory’

Modern science has recently discovered that the whole

universe was initially packed together at a single point.
Then there occurred an expansion known as the Big Bang.
From the resulting nebulae, the stars, planets, Moon, Sun
etc. were formed. This is what is referred to by science as
the ‘Big Bang Theory’.

(The New Encyclopaedia Britannica vol. 19, pg. 636)

“Do the disbelievers not observe that the heavens and the
earth were a single mass, then We (God) split them
apart”? Qur’an 21:30

2. Astronomy

The solar apex

Modern science has recently discovered that the solar

system i.e. the sun and its planets are moving in space at a
41
speed of 19 km per second towards a point in the
constellation of Hercules (Alpha Lyrae). Its exact location
has been calculated with precision. Astronomers name it
the ‘solar apex.’

“The sun runs on its course to its fixed place (solar apex).
This is an estimation of The Almighty, All Knowing”.
Qur’an 36:38

3. Medicine

Honey

The bee absorbs nectar and juices from various flowers

and fruits. Then it produces honey which it stores in cells
of wax. The fact that honey contains healing properties for
mankind has been highlighted in the Qur’an 1400 years
ago, at a time when science had ignored the bee as an
insignificant creation. It should make one think how a
prophet of Arabia who lived in the desert could give such
an elaborate account of the bee without having access to
modern day Science and technology.

4. Botany

Plants created in pairs (male and female)

Previously humans did not know that plants also have male
and female gender distinctions. Botany now states that
every plant has male and female species. Even the plants

42
that are unisexual have distinct elements of both, male and
female.

“And He has sent down water from the sky, with it We

have produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from
the others”. Qur’an 20:53

5. Expansion of the universe

Modern scientific discoveries have now proven that the

universe is expanding. The evidence for this was provided
in 1925 by an American astronomer, Edwin Hubble, after
observing that all the galaxies are receding from one
another, which implies that the universe is expanding. This
was brought to man’s attention by the Qur’an even before
man developed the telescope.

“And the sky, We created it with might and great are We in

expanding it”. Qur’an 51: 47

6. Geology

Mountains

Modern scientists, like Emeritus Professor Frank Press,

have recently confirmed that mountains have deep roots
under the surface of the ground like pegs. As compared to
the height of the mountain these roots go several times
deeper into the earth.47 The theory of “the mountains

47
The Geological Concept of mountains in the Qur’an, El-Naggar, pg. 5
43
having deep roots” was introduced only in 1865 by the
Astronomer Royal, Sir George Airy.48

Modern theory of “plate tectonics” holds that these deep-

rooted mountains play an important role in stabilizing the
crust of the earth. This knowledge of mountains as
stabilizes for the earth was only recently understood in the
framework of “plate tectonics.”

This knowledge of mountains having peg-shaped roots,

serving as stabilizes was already mentioned 1400 years
ago by Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an.

“Have we not made the earth as a bed and the mountains

as pegs”. Qur’an 78:6-7

7. Oceanography

Modern science has confirmed that a barrier divides two

seas so that each sea has its own temperature, salinity and
density. 49 Oceanographers are now in a better position to
explain the verse of the Qur’an. There is a slanted unseen
water barrier between two seas through which water from
one sea passes through the other. For example, when the
Mediterranean Sea water enters the Atlantic past Gibraltar,
it still moves several hundred kilometres into the Atlantic
at a depth of 1000 metres with its own warm, saline, and

48
Earth, Press and Siever, pg. 435 (authored by Professor Emeritus Frank Press, who was
the adviser to former US President Jimmy Carter, and the President of National Academy of
Sciences, Washington DC.
49
Principles of Oceanography, Davis pg. 92,93
44
less dense characteristics. Although there are large waves,
strong currents, and tides in the ocean, yet they do not mix
or transgress this barrier. Hence the Qur’anic verse reads:

Barrier between the two seas

The Qur’an speaks of the two seas both meeting and

mixing with each other, yet they are separated from each
other by means of a barrier or a partition. Early
commentators of the Holy Qur’an could not understand
and explain the two opposite meanings of the words
‘maraja’ and ‘barzakh’, the first which means that they
meet and mix, and the other which means that there is a
barrier between them.

“He has set free the two seas meeting together. There is a
barrier between them. They do not transgress”.
Qur’an 55:19-20

8. Oceanography

Darkness beneath the sea

Oceanographers have recently discovered the darkness in

the ocean at a depth of 200 metres. At this level there is
almost no light at all. Human beings are unable to dive
more than forty meters without the aid of submarines or
special equipment.

45
“(The parable of the disbelievers is) like zones of darkness
in an abysmal sea overwhelmed by a wave above which
there is another wave above which is a cloud”. Zones of
darkness, one above the other. If man stretches out his
hand, he will scarcely be able to see it.’ Qur’an 24:40

9. General Science

Uniqueness of human fingerprints

The use of fingerprints as identification became a scientific

tool since 1880, after the research of Sir Francis Golt only
to discover that no two person’s fingerprints are identical.
This is how detectives worldwide identify their criminals.
But 1400 hundred years ago, when the infidels argued
about the possibilities of Resurrection after death when the
bones of man have disintegrated, the Qur’an confirmed the
possibility in its unique style through the following verse:

“Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones? No,

We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of
his fingers.” Qur’an 75:4

10. Embryology

The human foetus development

Dr. Keith Moore who is one of the world’s most prominent

scientist in the field of anatomy and embryology compared
a human foetus in its early stage to a piece of ‘chewed

46
gum’ and thereafter confirmed that the two resemble each
other in appearance. This is the exact meaning of the term
‘Mudhgah’ in Arabic. It was found that the foetus in the
early stage was similar in appearance to a ‘chewed’
substance. The somites at the back of the embryo
resembled the teeth marks of the chewed gum.

“We created man from an extract of clay. Then we placed

him as a clot of blood in a preserved receptacle. Then We
created the clot into congealed blood. Then We created the
blood into a chewed-like lump”. Qur’an 23:12-14

11. Geography

Clouds and Rainfall

Scientists have studied cloud types and have realized that

rain clouds are formed and shaped according to a definite
system. Meteorologists have studied this by using
advanced equipment like planes, satellites, computers and
balloons. They conclude that clouds produce rain in the
following sequence:

Have you not seen how God makes the clouds move gently,
then joins them together, then makes them into a stack, and
then you see the rain come out of it ….” Qur’an 24:43

47
12. Astronomy

The light of the Moon is reflected light

It was believed by earlier civilizations that the moon

emanates its own light. Science now tells us that the light
of the Moon is a reflected light. However this fact was
mentioned in the Qur’an 1400 years ago in the following
verse:

“Blessed is He who made Constellations in the skies, and

placed therein a lamp and a moon giving light.”
Qur’an 25:61

The Qur’an in describing the brightness of the Sun and

Moon, uses two different words to describe them. The
words that have been translated as ‘lamp’ for the sun and
‘light’ for the Moon. The word ‘lamp’ used for the Sun
shows that the glow of the Sun is from within itself like a
lamp. The word ‘light’ is used for the moon shows that the
glow of the moon is not of its own, but a reflection of
another light i.e. the sun. The Bible in describing the
difference between the Sun and Moon, only distinguishes
them by their size.

48
...Continuation of Brown’s Live Interview
4.5 Brown’s statement on evolution

In Brown’s interview, he questions how could one read the

story of Adam and Eve along side with a book on
evolution and cosmology.

Muslim response

The theory of Evolution denies the creation of the

universe. The atheistic scientists try to prove this by
saying that there was a mechanism in nature that gave life
to inanimate matter, which in turn gave life to millions of
species. They deny that the universe had been created and
believe that it existed forever. This has however been
disproved by scientist of the 20th century.

Darwin’s theory suggests that all species descended from a

common ancestor, and have grown apart from one another
in a series of small progressive changes.

According to Darwin’s theory, life on earth began from

inanimate matter. Then the question is; how did the first
living thing come into being? Darwin failed to address that
issue contending that the first cell could easily have
formed in some warm little pond. The evolutionist
biologists who attempted to make good this attempt in
Darwinism ended up in disappointment. All observations
and experiments show that it was impossible for all living
49
cells to emerge from inanimate matter. Scientists then
discovered something else in the second half of the
twentieth century, life and especially the living cell with
the complex organelle. It has within it the most
complicated designs. For example the likeness of eyes,
with which no camera can possibly compare. Bird wings
have inspired aeronautical technology, the complexity of a
living cell, the extraordinary information contained in
d.n.a. All these are clear examples of design, and clearly
reject the theory of evolution, which regards life as a
product of blind chance. Scientists in most western
countries, particularly in the United States, today reject
Darwinism in favour of the theory of intelligent design.
The reason for this is that scientific facts show that life
emerged with design and not by chance. In short, science
once again confirms that God had created all living things.
This ultimately reveals the existence of God who is
responsible for all creation.

Scientists disagreement on Evolution

Patrick Glynn says:

‘The past two decades of research have overturned nearly
all the important assumptions and predictions of an earlier
generation of modern secular and atheist thinkers relating
to the issue of God. Over the course of a century in the
great debate between science and faith the tables have

50
completely turned. Today the concrete data point strongly
in the direction of the God hypothesis.’50

Philosophers of the 18th century like Emanuel Kant also

supported the atheistic idea about the universe not having a
beginning. Science however, later proved that it had a
beginning. This was proven from the Big Bang theory in
1929 when the American astronomer Edwin Hubble
discovered that the galaxies were constantly moving away
from one other. This meant that the universe was
expanding. They concluded that if the flow of time in the
expanding universe were reversed, then it would emerge
that the whole universe must have come from a single
point. Astronomers found themselves facing a
metaphysical situation which the single point possessed
infinite gravity, yet zero percent volume. Everything
emerged with the explosion from that infinitely small
point. In other words the universe was created from
nothing. Although the Big Bang theory disturbed
materialists, it continued to be supported by concrete
scientific discoveries.

During the observations in the 1960’s, two scientists, Arno

Pencias and Robert Wilson identified the radioactive traces
left behind by the initial explosion; the same thing was
confirmed in the 1990’s. Today the atheists have been
completely cornered by the recent scientific truths. One of
50
By Patrick Glynn in his book ‘God The Evidence’, The reconciliation of faith
and reason in the Post secular world, Prima Publishing, California, 1997 pp 19-20,
53.

51
the atheists reaction to the Big Bang Theory appeared in
the 1980’s by John Madocks the editor of ‘nature’, which
is one of the best known materialistic scientific magazines.
In the article entitled ‘down with the Big Bang’ Madocks
wrote that the Big Bang is philosophically unacceptable
because creationist and those with similar persuasions
draw ample justifications from the doctrine of the Big
Bang. He also predicted that the Big Bang was unlikely to
survive the decade ahead. The Big Bang evidence has
since grown stronger, and many more discoveries confirm
the creation of the universe. The conclusion arrived at by
modern astronomers is this; Matter and time were brought
into being by an infinitely powerful Creator, the Creator of
the universe that we inhabit is God, Lord of all the worlds.

The collapse of the idea of the Accidental Universe

The most perfect balance in which the heavenly bodies

have been created, all point to a perfect design of some
Supreme Being. An example of this is the distance of the
Sun from the earth which has been perfectly designed to
make human life possible. As the scientist, George
Greenstein stumbled upon these facts, he concluded:-

“As we survey all the evidence, the thought instantly arises

that some supernatural agency must be involved. Is it
possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have

52
stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a
Supreme Being?51

The same view is supported by Michael J Denton in his

‘Nature’s destiny,’ The Free Press, New York, 1988,
pg. 14

The Holy Qur’an clarifies this issue in saying:-

‘We did not create heaven and earth and everything

between them for no purpose. That is the opinion of those
who disbelieve’.
(Qur’an 38:27)

5. Events following the crucifixion

Issues regarding the crucifixion and the Resurrection have
always been a subject of critical discussion in recent times.
In view of this, I have therefore decided to reveal the
reality with regards to each of these subjects for the benefit
reader, beginning with the crucifixion of Jesus.

The question is; Was Jesus crucified in reality? The answer

is ‘no’. If I am then asked, what is my proof? I would reply
that the Qur’an says so. The Christian would possibly say

51
George Greenstein, The symbolic Universe, William Morrow, New York, 1988,
Pg. 27

53
that the Qur’an is not proof for him. I therefore produce
proof from the Bible itself.

First of all, from the Biblical point of view, there are no

eye witnesses to the crucifixion from any of the disciples
of Jesus. The Bible says that;

‘And they all forsook him and fled’.52

‘All’ meaning everyone from amongst the disciples ran

away. Obviously, the only possible witnesses available
were the enemies of Jesus, those who assumed to have
killed him, which happens to be mentioned in the Qur’an.53
The only way the news spread, about the crucifixion, was
from the enemies’ source, who said out of boast that they
killed Jesus. Therefore, wherever in the Bible it is
mentioned that he ‘died’ or was ‘killed’ on the cross,
though it may be mentioned dozens of times in Matthew,
Mark, Luke or John, we would have to accept the fact that
‘the disciples according to the Bible’ 54 received this
information via hearsay, which means they all heard it as a
rumour from others, and not witnessed it themselves.

The reality was that God made it appear to the Jews and
the Roman soldiers that they killed Jesus, but in actual fact

52
Mark 14:50
53
Qur’an- Chapter 4: Verse 157 ‘They (the Jews) said in boast, ‘we have killed
Jesus….’
54
The phrase, ‘Disciples according to the Bible’ refers to the fact that according to
Islam the true disciples did not fall prey to these discussions. Whether the New
Testament writings are the writings of the disciples, is a subject of its own.
54
they did not kill him. God’s purpose for doing so was to
deceive Jesus’ enemies in order to save Jesus.

Q. If Jesus was not crucified, then is it possible that the

entire Christendom unanimously agree upon the fact that
Jesus was crucified? Is it possible that the whole 100%
Christians misunderstood; especially that it had been a
historical fact that Jesus was crucified? Now, how does the
Muslim come along after an elapse of time with a new
concept that Jesus was not crucified?

A. The fallacy of the crucifixion was only revealed 571

years after Jesus Christ by the Prophet Muhammad who
received this revelation directly from God in the Qur'an.
Until before this period, no one knew this fact. The
Qur'an55 also points out that God 'made it appear to them
so', in other words, God led the Jews to believe that Jesus
was crucified, whilst he was not. God’s attempt in doing so
was to directly deceive or confuse the Jews. Though this
news would break out and reach the disciples, they would
also be indirectly made to be confused or outwardly seem
to be deceived by God. Instead, God didn’t intend to
deceive the followers of Jesus, rather to directly deceive or
confuse the Jews.

55
Qur’an Chapter 4: Verse 158
55
Q. Was God justified in deceiving the people concerning
the crucifixion?

A. God was justified in deceiving the Jews of that time in

order to save his beloved Prophet from the embarrassment
of the nakedness on the cross.

If God intended to reveal the truth of the crucifixion

immediately after the alleged crucifixion in order to avoid
the misinterpretation of the people, who could He have
revealed the truth to, because according to the system of
God in Islam, there was no one at that particular time
capable of receiving this direct inspiration from God,
because direct inspiration from God belonged only to
God’s Prophets. Now that his Prophet Jesus was not
around, there was no one else to receive this revelation.

As to the true followers of Jesus, upon hearing the news of

Jesus’ crucifixion, it did not disturb their faith regarding
whether they believed it or not, since salvation wasn’t
dependent on believing that Christ died for them on the
cross, as it is believed in Christianity today as a foundation
of their faith. Instead the foundation of the true
‘Christian’56 faith as well as the requirement for salvation
was what was preached by Jesus in his first commandment

56
Once again, the phrase ‘Christianity’ used here for the followers of Jesus is done
more for convenience purposes. Rather, the true followers of Jesus were not at all
called by the name ‘Christian’. The term Christian began only to be used only in
Antioch years later. “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch”
Acts 11:26
56
of Mark 12:29.57 Secondly, salvation depended on the
performance of righteous deeds, which Jesus preached
according to Mathew 5:20, ‘For I say unto you that except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and the Pharisees; ye shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven’.

Q. If Jesus was not crucified but rather raised up by God,

then what was the condition of the disciples after that? Did
they believe in the crucifixion or not?

A. The condition of the true disciples was such that they

continued to remain steadfast on the teachings of Jesus
which Jesus had preached to them. This matter of whether
Jesus was crucified on the cross or not, was not an issue of
dispute between them because they themselves did not see
him on the cross. They therefore preferred silence on this
subject.

Q. How could the ‘so called’ Christians at that time then

believe that Jesus was crucified, which leads them to
believe in it even up to today?

A. Apart from the true followers of Jesus, there existed a

group from amongst the Christians who fell prey to the call
of the Jews that they had crucified Jesus. These Christians
made this claim probably after they heard the Jews and the
Romans who boasted that they killed Jesus. This

57
“The first is, Hear O Israel: ‘The Lord our God, the Lord is one’.

57
automatically led some followers of Jesus to retaliate to the
boastful claim of the Jew saying to them; ‘Our master died
for us on the cross’. This very statement was adopted by
some of the ‘so called’ followers of Jesus in order to
console themselves that Jesus died for them on the cross.
Subsequently, this became an issue of faith ever since.
Like the case of Mr Bush consoling the family members of
those who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying to
them that; ‘We are proud that your sons have died for us,
(i.e. for our country).’ No one up to the present assume
that soldiers die for the sins of their people. Likewise was
the case with Christianity, that eventually led to the issue
of people saying that Jesus died for their sins on the cross.
With the addition of the word ‘sin’ it, automatically
brought into Christianity the issue of salvation. Eventually
salvation according to them was centred around the
crucifixion, resurrection, redemption and the atonement.
This is the main sale's point. This is why Paul said that 'If
Christ was crucified and resurrected, then our preaching is
in vain'. This now became a turning point in the Christian
faith, drifting further away from truth of the real doctrines.

Can you imagine that the Jews wanted to kill Jesus. Jesus
on the other hand was praying to God to save him. The
disciples according to the Bible tried protecting Jesus by
selling their garments to buy swords. After all their effort
in trying to protect Jesus, how could they have afterwards
claimed that Jesus died for them on the cross?

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Ever since, Christianity deals with everything after the
crucifixion, and has nothing to do with what Jesus
preached in his 33 years of life. I don’t say this blatantly or
to mock, but instead to reveal the reality of the situation.
The fact remains that Jesus initially preached ‘the first
commandment’ while the Christians today on the other
hand, on the first opportunity preach ‘salvation in the
blood of Christ’.

6. The only way to salvation

According to Islam, the only way to salvation is believing
in the ONE unseen God, and also to believe that Jesus was
a prophet of God, and Muhammad is the last Prophet of
God. This is as far as belief is concerned.

As far as our actions are concerned, the requirement for

salvation to offer a self sacrifice’58 to God, that is to repent
sincerely to Him and ask Him for forgiveness, as well as
having sincere regret from the core of our hearts over the
sins we have committed. This repentance is because we are
all sinners by nature and that we all do tend to commit
wrongs in life. Furthermore, we are required to ‘sacrifice’
by striving to perform59 good deeds for the pleasure of
God60.

58
Not a third party sacrifice, in believing that someone else died for us on the
cross.
59
Self sacrifice means that God wants a sacrifice from us as individuals, because it
is we as individuals, who have broken the law and have sinned, and not just
believing that someone else died for our sins.
59
 Conclusion

I pray to God that He makes this publication a means of forgiveness

for my shortcomings, and a source of guidance for the world to be
able to recognize the truth. I therefore invite every person to read the
Holy Qur’an which is:-

1. The word of God (in its literal sense61, because it was

revealed from God word for word, letter for letter in the way
that God wanted it to be).
2. Free from contradictions.
3. The Qur’an answers the questions concerning the realities of
life, the Hereafter, the concept of God, prophethood (as
pointed out by Dan Brown in his interview, man has not truly
discovered these realities, and therefore he wants people to
start thinking)
4. The Qur’an grants satisfaction to the heart and soul in the
answers and solutions that it provides.
5. The only book which is preserved by being memorized in its
entirety by thousands of people throughout the world from
the time it was revealed. It is even memorized by children
until.
6. It is still preserved in its original text, Arabic.
7. Its translations are free from deletions, additions, alterations
of verses.
8. Compatible with sciences.
9. Preserved in its original language, Arabic without even the
slightest change in it.
10. Invites all to the common religion of monotheism which
existed at every generation.

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The self sacrifice of performing good deeds includes giving of charity, fasting,
praying five time a day, taking care of orphans etc. Any good action, though they
may be a performance of rituals are all under the category of self sacrifice,
especially that a sacrifice requires effort.
61
Unlike when Christians say ‘word of God’ in its figurative sense
60
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